Stocking



y 23, W; J. LARGMAN 2,349,357

STOCKING Filed April 13, 1943' A' Mimi 0H iigjz imimr APE.

lay Mum '\'y JOSEPH LARGMAN Patented May 23, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- STOCKING Joseph Largman, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application April 13, 1943, Serial No. 482,841

' 2 Claims. (Cl. 66-173) heavier yarn than that employed for knitting the body fabric with the result that in all such stockings, the sheer or non-reinforced leg portion of the stocking extends to and terminates abruptly at the bottom edge of the doubled welt. Unless this doubled welt is formed of considerable depth, which in most cases is quite undesirable, the natural tendency for the wearer of the stocking is to secure the hose supporter clasp in the non-reinforced leg portion of the stocking at a point below the welt. This results in a severe strain and pull on the body fabric with consequent weakening of the body yarn and the creation of runs in the leg fabric.

It is among the objects of the present invention to overcome this difficulty by providing a stocking having a single ply "after-welt" formed immediately below the conventional doubled top or welt of the stocking, said after-welt being so knitted and reinforced as to provide it with sufficient strength to enable hose supporters to be anchored'therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide a full-fashioned stocking with a single ply afterwelt" which is interposed between the conventional doubled top or welt and the non-reinforced leg body of the stocking and which is knitted in such manner as to create an improved balance between the reinforced welt and non-reinforced le portions of the stocking, thus materially enhancing the general appearance of the stocking in the region of its welt.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a stocking with an after-welt, which is commonly knitted of the non-reinforced yarn forming the leg fabric and of the heavier or reinforced yarn forming the welt fabric, in conse quence of which there is provided between the doubled welt and the leg body of the stocking a reinforced region .of substantial depth which serves to blend the .more o'r less sheer leg fabric with the heavier weitfabric to thereby not only improve the appearance of the stocking as a whole, but also provide for increased strength and additional gartering area in the region immediately below the doubled welt.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent more fully hereinafter, it being understood that the invention consists substantially in the combination, construction, location and relative arrangement of the several parts of the stocking, all as will appear more fully hereinafter, as shown in the accompanying illustrative drawing, and as finally pointed out in the appended claims.

In the said drawing, which is not intended to be restrictive, but merely illustrative of a preferred form of the invention:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a stocking constructed in accordance with and embodying the principles of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a diagram of the knitted loop formation of the after-welt of the present invention.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, it will be observed that the stocking I0 is provided with the usual leg and foot portions I l and i2 respectively and with a conventional doubled welt'portion l3. Intervening the welt portion l3 and the leg portion II is the afterwelt portion l4 and it is in relation to this latter portion of the stocking that the present invention is particularly directed.

In fabricating the stocking of the present invention, the welt fabric is knitted of a heavier thread than is the web of the leg portion II, the denier ratio of the yarns respectively constituting the main welt fabric and the sheer leg fabric being preferably on the order of '75 to 50, although this ratio may be varied as desired without departing from the principles of the present invention. In accordance with conventional practice, the main welt fabric, which is preferably knitted of yarn having a denier of or more, is doubled upon itself in such manner as to provide the top welt ll! of doubled thickness.

fabric to the extent of the added welt yarn. This after-welt portion It, being of single thickness fabric as compared with the double thickness fabric of the top welt i3, is thus of a weight per unit of area which is intermediate that of the leg fabric I I and the top welt II and so improves the balance and insures a better appearing relation between these parts of the stocking. In the stockings as ordinarily produced, there is a sharp contrast in appearance between the fabric forming welt and the leg proper of the stocking, whereas in the stocking of the present invention, this distracting contrast is avoided by continuing the welt yarn a substantial distance beyond the line II which demarcates the lower edge of the doubled welt, the body yarn of the leg being interknitted with said welt yarn through as many courses as may be desired to form the after-welt H.

The knitted construction of the after-welt is probably shown most clearly in Figure 3 wherein it will be observed that the welt yarn I 8, which is exclusively employed to knit the fabric of the doubled top welt I3, continues throughout the knitted courses of the after-welt portion 54, while the body yarn H, which is exclusively employed to knit the stocking leg II, is employed conjointly with the welt yarn E8 to knit said afterwelt I4. The welt yam l8 and the leg yarn H are thus coextensive throughout the area of the after-welt, these two yarns being coniointly employed, by the simultaneous operation of their respective yarn carriers, to form the knitted courses of the after-welt.

While it is preferred to employ a welt yarn having a denier of 75 and a leg yarn having a denier of 50 to thereby produce an after-welt having a combined yarn denier of 125, it will be understood, of course, that the denier ratio of the welt and leg yarns may be varied as desired without departing from the present invention, and also that the number of courses comprising the after-welt may be varied within wide limits. Accordingly, it is intended to claim the invention broadly, as well as specifically, as indicated by the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

1. In a stocking having a doubled top welt knitted of yarn of a given denier and a non-reinforced leg portion knitted of yarn of a denier materially less than said given denier, a reinforced after-welt portion extending below said top welt and interknitted with said leg portion, said afterwelt portion being knitted throughout of the two yarns respectively forming said top welt and said leg portion of the stocking, the yarn of the top welt being continued into the knitted body of the leg portion of the stocking to reinforce the body yarn or said leg portion throughout all of the courses forming said after-welt.

2. In a stocking having a doubled top welt and a leg portion respectively knitted of yarns of substantially different deniers, a reinforced afterwelt portion knitted throughout conjointly of the said welt and leg portion yarns to provide it with a composite denier equal to the sum of the deniers of the said two yarns, said after-welt portion being knitted of a sufficient number of courses to provide a reinforced zone or panel disposed between the doubled top welt and the non-reinforced leg portion of the stocking adequate for gartering purposes.

JOSEPH LARGMAN. 

